The snow turned heavy after a day, and this year's snow came earlier and more intensely than last year.

Zhao Dangshi's body was already covered with a thick mink fur, and his body was warm, but his face was as cold as the snowy climate outside the tent.

Lian Buxin has not sent a message back for several days, although the road from Chenggu to Ningqiang Prefecture is complicated, but Zhao Dangshi has also taken into account the factors before, and agreed with Lian Buxin to have a flexible time. At the moment, even the deadline for flexible time has long passed, but there is still no news from Lian Buxin and the others.

Maybe it's because he's too busy with the war ahead to reciprocate; Maybe it was the Tang Ma who delivered the message that met with an accident halfway; Perhaps it was the unbelieving 300 horsemen who were in trouble. Zhao Dangshi went through all the possible situations in his mind, and finally vaguely felt that the last situation was the most likely to happen.

Blessings are incomparable, and disasters are not singular. Zhao Dangshi was upset because of his incorruptibility, but the news of Qin Jinxiao's unauthorized withdrawal of troops came unexpectedly at this moment.

In the Zhao camp, the left battalion has always been an army of its own, and Zhao Dangshi has never interfered too much in the personnel and establishment of the inside. On the one hand, the Shizhou veterans of the left battalion maintained strong combat effectiveness under the cohesion of Qin Jinxiao, and on the other hand, it also caused Zhao Dangshi to supervise this army poorly.

Zhao Dangshi felt Qin Jin's resentment of filial piety, coupled with pity for Qin Shilu and respect for Qin Qigong, he always hoped to consolidate Qin Jin's filial piety with gentle means. But Qin Jinxiao doesn't seem to appreciate his affection very much, and still goes his own way, just take the matter of arranging clerks in the camp, even old thorns like Hou Dagui and Hao Shaoqi accept it, but Qin Jinxiao repeatedly resists the cow. Xu Hui and other confidant generals couldn't look past it, and privately persuaded Zhao Dangshi not to compromise on everything, but Zhao Dangshi took into account many internal and external factors, and did not force him in the end.

There are many such things, Qin Jinxiao will naturally have some "arrogant" hearts, and the biggest backer he relies on is nothing more than the Shizhou veterans who are less than 2,000 under his hands who are desperate for him.

From Shizhou to Hanzhong, Zhao Dangshi thought about it for a long time, and he never decided to deal with Qin Jinxiao's idea, and he was indecisive, and the disadvantages soon became apparent at the moment. The incident of escaping from the battle is no worse than the disappearance of Lian Buxin, and the nature is very bad. It is very likely that Lian is trapped by foreign affairs, but Qin Jinxiao is really disregarding military discipline.

Since the formation of military discipline, Zhao Dangshi has devoted a lot of effort to the implementation level. In other words, the defeat on the battlefield is still excusable, but subjectively despise military discipline and despise him Zhao Dangshi, then it is unbearable. If the army is undisciplined, if the matter of Qin Jinxiao's departure from his post without permission cannot be properly resolved, it will inevitably make Zhao Ying's military discipline a dead letter from now on, and the army will be separated from morality, and the achievements of governing the army that have been accumulated with great difficulty will also come to naught.

Qin Jinxiao did not return to Chenggu after retreating from Chu County, and his current whereabouts are unknown. On the west side of the county is the official army, on the east side there is Wu Dading in Baocheng County to control the traffic, and on the south side is where the Xu Hui department is located. Zhao Dangshi speculated that Qin Jinxiao led his troops north nine times out of ten.

However, Qin Jinxiao is not from Shaanxi, and he is improvised, and he will be greeted by the boundless Qinling Mountains under the condition of unknown geography. At present, there is a trend of heavy snowfall from the sky, and Zhao Dangshi decided after deliberation among the generals that as long as Qin Jinxiao is not crazy, he will not continue to retreat to the depths of the Qinling Mountains at the risk of the whole army overturning, and the last possible thing is to wander at the junction of the northern plains and mountains of Chuxian. There are many forts in this area, and with the combat power of the left battalion Shizhou soldiers, they can plunder everywhere to solve the urgent need of the current lack of food and rest.

So in the county, there are two things that need to be dealt with urgently. One is to attack the county seat, and the other is to bring back Qin Jinxiao. Zhao Dangshi and others came and went to discuss, and finally set the tone of giving priority to attacking Chu County and disposing of Qin Jinxiao.

The people sent by Xu Hui made it very clear that with only 2,000 people in the front battalion, it was difficult to support them alone in Chu County, and it was difficult to effectively deal with a variety of possible variables, and Zhao Dangshi thought deeply about this.

At present, the strength of the Zhao battalion, except for Qin Jinxiao, is mainly divided into three units. One is stationed in Chenggu, with the Hou Dagui middle camp of the Zhao camp headquarters, the right camp of Hao Shaoqi, the rear camp of Wang Laixing and the horse military camp of Han Gon, a total of more than 7,000 horse steps, plus 6,000 people of Zhang Miaoshou, the number is about 145,000, which is the backbone and old capital of the Zhao camp; One group was guarding Baocheng, all of which were Wu Dading's soldiers and horses, with a number of six or seven thousand; A former battalion of Xu Hui, with more than 2,000 people stationed in Xianxian.

Wu Dading and Zhang Miaoshou people, Zhao Dangshi couldn't believe it, so he summoned the generals, first understood the work that everyone was currently doing, and then sent them according to the actual situation. In the end, it was agreed that 500 people would be allocated from the front division of Hao Shaoqi's right battalion, and 2 or 300 people would be transferred from the middle battalion and the rear battalion to form a team of 1,000 people to go to the county. This team was temporarily led by Song Sima, the general of the front division of the right battalion.

This Song Sima is a native of Henan, but he has been in Shaanxi for seven or eight years, and he can speak several places, and he also considers himself an old man in Shaanxi. He was less than forty, but his face was wrinkled, his eyebrows were drooping, and he looked bitter and hateful. Although this person's appearance is not Zhou Zheng, but fortunately, he worked as an apprentice in a teahouse when he was young, and he can speak well and do things reliably, and he was gradually promoted to the general manager because of his merits.

After listening to the appointment, Song Sima's drooping eyebrows moved, and he was about to receive the order, but he didn't want a person on the same side to flash out, so he blocked in front of him, and said loudly: "Envoy, my subordinates have something to say!" ”

Everyone saw that what came out was Xue Feixian, the head of the Ma military camp.

This is a bit strange, Zhao Dangshi's body leaned forward slightly, stretched out his hand, and said, "Mr. Xue, please speak." ”

Xue Feixian's chest was high, and he raised his head and said: "My subordinates think that this attack on Chu County cannot be trusted. Qin Jinxiao attacked it with 2,000 sharp soldiers, and was defeated and fearful, which shows the courage of the county soldiers. His voice was very loud, and after he finished speaking, the aftermath continued to echo in the ears of everyone in the tent.

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said, "What Mr. Xue said is true. ”

Xue Feixian continued: "In this case, what can Song General do with this thousand people?" Saying that, no matter how ugly the faces of Song Sima and Hao Shaoqi and the others were, they stared straight at Zhao Dangshi.

"What does Xue mean in general?"

Before Xue Feixian could answer, Hao Shaoqi couldn't hold back and shouted: "Then you go!" ”

When Xue Feixian heard this, he sneered, ignored him, and bowed to Zhao Dangshi and said: "The envoys, the subordinates think that this is going to the county, just Song Jiang's general army is definitely not enough, and a horse army should be sent together, which can not only enhance combat effectiveness, but also prevent the recurrence of emergencies like Qin Jinxiao." ”

These days, the Ma military camp has not done much except to lead the army out alone. Zhao Dangshi cherished the Ma Army, and his main requirement for Han Gon was to cooperate with the infantry army in the battlefield and rarely act independently. And the three generals of the Ma military camp, Meng Aocao did not heal from the arrow wound on the buttocks last time, Lian Buxin did not return, and the only remaining Xue Feixian was uncontrollable, these objective conditions made Zhao Dangshi dispel the idea of sending the Ma army to support the county.

Except for the two soldiers and a few henchmen and generals, Zhao Dangshi did not inform anyone else. So in Xue Feixian's view, this is just a simple military operation, with Qin Jinxiao and 2,000 Shizhou soldiers who have nothing to do, let Song Sima have such an unfortunate face and go to Chuxian with a thousand "miscellaneous army" that has been put together temporarily, isn't it to hit a stone with an egg?

His way of thinking Zhao Dangshi understands that it is not Zhao Dangshi's deliberate effort to transfer soldiers from all over the country to Song Sima, according to the current situation, all the battalions and generals perform their duties and have heavy responsibilities, although the number of the whole army is large, the mobile forces that can be dispatched at this moment are stretched. The Ma military camp had spare strength, but considering several factors before, Zhao Dangshi had no choice but to give up, but now Xue Feixian had the intention of taking the initiative to ask for help, and he couldn't help but reconsider the possibility of sending the Ma army to attack.

Xue Feixian's fierce eagle has always been at odds with him, why did he suddenly change his sex? Zhao Dangshi couldn't figure it out for a while, but listening to the meaning of Xue Feixian's words, it seemed that he was worried about the failure of the siege. After all, it is Zhao Ying's people, Qin Jinxiao's unexpected departure has cast a shadow on the whole army, and the inability to attack the city is tantamount to adding insult to injury. In line with the psychology of both glory and loss, it is reasonable for him to put forward such an opinion.

However, there are many things that have been experienced, Zhao Dangshi will have an extra mind all the time when he thinks about problems, and without any warning, Xue Feixian's statement can't help but make him a little worried. But on the other hand, having such an opportunity to show Xue Feixian is not an opportunity to get closer to others. After all, Xue Feixian's subordinates are strong and strong, and the effect of countering violence with violence is by no means comparable to that brought about by Huairou.

Han Gon also saw that this was probably a good opportunity to reconcile the feud between Zhao Dangshi and Xue Feixian, so he also stepped out at this time and said to Zhao Dangshi: "Du Envoy, Xue is always known as a good fighter, and he will go out and capture the county." Subordinates can vouch for it. ”

Xue Feixian was slightly surprised, hesitated for a moment and said to Han Gon, "Thank you, Mr. Qian." ”

Han Gon was very righteous to his brother, and he came out to vouch for it, and Zhao Dangshi had no reason to slap his face. I also thought that even if the county had already laid out a foolproof plan, it would be understandable to ask Xue Feixian to go over for insurance.

In line with the idea that there are many boats that do not get in the way, Zhao Dangshi nodded and said: "Xue Jiang is always commendable, and he can go with Song General and be controlled by Xu Qian." Break through the county seat, and use Zhang I Zhao Battalion to prestitute the might. "Xue Feixian has nearly a thousand cavalry under his command, if he really wants to go, only him and Xu Hui are enough. But Zhao Dangshi couldn't let go of him, so he still asked Song Sima to go with him, and made it clear that he was under Xu Hui's command when he went to the front line, so as not to give birth to what was wrong.

When Xue Feixian heard this, he didn't have anything else to say, he just said "obey", he didn't look at Song Sima, and stood back arrogantly. Song Sima's two eyebrows were pulled down even further, and then he pursed his lips and took two small steps to receive the military order.

After another half an hour, the main things were arranged, and Zhao Dangshi finally said: "This is going to Chuxian, the siege is the main thing, and Qin is behind." If Qin Jin's filial piety does perverse things, he can also hit it! After speaking, he glanced at the generals in the tent, and everyone else was expressionless, only the corner of Wang Laixing's mouth twitched.

After the meeting was dismissed, the generals left separately, Zhao Dangshi exhaled, leaned back in the chair, and said to Qin Qigong: "Qing'an, what do you think?" ”

As Qin Jinxiao's uncle, Qin Qigong rarely said a word at the military meeting that lasted for more than an hour. Zhao Dangshi knew that he was in front of everyone to avoid suspicion, so he specially kept him down and listened to his thoughts.

Qin Qigong and Mu Gongchun are Zhao Dangshi's think tanks, and they usually stay and discuss with Zhao Dangshi for a while after the meeting, but today Mu Gongchun has diarrhea and left first - I heard that the reason for the diarrhea is because the temperature has plummeted, and he still insists on wearing a thin and elegant white robe, so he catches a cold - there is no one else in the tent except Zhao Dangshi and Qin Qigong, so Qin Qigong dared to speak at this time.

"Qin Jinxiao retreated without permission in battle, regarded military discipline as nothing, arrogant and arrogant, and could not warn the whole army without punishment." Contrary to Zhao Dangshi's expectations, Qin Qigong did not hesitate, but said very plainly but firmly.

"How to punish it?" Zhao Dangshi's tone was very calm, but it gave people a very cold feeling.

"Kill." Qin Qigong spit out a word lightly, as if at this time Qin Jinxiao was no longer the partner and relative who grew up with him, but a stranger.

Outside the tent, the sleet was howling.

Sun Xianzu stepped out of the tent, held his forehead with one hand, looked at the gray sky, and sighed: "I'm afraid that in a few days, this snow will accumulate." ”

A confidant general came up from behind, put a thick robe on him, and said, "My lord, such weather is favorable to me. ”

"What's advantageous?" Sun Xianzu glanced at him obliquely, and then the two smiled at each other thoughtfully.

The henchman said again: "My subordinates are still a little worried, this Zhao thief is cunning, will he put us together in the end?" ”

Sun Xianzu tightened his velvet robe, coughed lightly, and said, "He has a good plan, and I have a wall ladder." Empty words, who did the Lord? How can I come and go with him without real certainty? ”

"What do you mean?"

Sun Xianzu ignored him and stood for a while, until his eyebrows were covered with snowflakes, then he shook his head and slowly paced back into the tent.